MARIJUANA RE-LEGALIZATION DAY

State College Pa. , SEPTEMBER 9, 1999

The usual Marijuana Smoke Out
was held at the Penn State Main Gate at College and Allen.It was filmed by Idea
Television, a Brazilian TV channel, to be shown in a documentary in Brazil, Portugal,
Spain, Hungary, and China., in pursuing a segment concerning the re-legalization
of marijuana. Idea Television feels it is important to provide a perspective of the
situation from the U. S., which has dealt with this debate for many years.This
was an opportunity to get our views to tens of millions of people around the world.

From noon to 1:00 PM, we held the weekly
Marijuana Smoke Out. Therewere 50-100 people present throughout the hour.
Speeches were given by:

John Galt, Jr., Independent
Candidate for President of the U. S., 2000Julian Heicklen, Libertarian Party
Candidate for Centre County Commissioner, 1999Ken Krawchuk, Libertarian Party
Candidate for Governor of Pennsylvania, 1998Carla Moquin, Libertarian Party Candidate
for Centre County Commissioner, 1999Tom Martin, Libertarian Party Candidate for
Spring Township Supervisor, 1999Teresa Martin, Libertarian Party Candidate for
Centre County Recorder of Deeds, 1999
Doctor Heicklen returned to his practice
of smoking for the crowd and the cameras. I joined Dr. Heicklen for a second ritual
smoking of an herbal cigarette. Two plain clothes Penn State police officers tried
to arrest Heicklen, but he swallowed his joint, so the police let him go for lack
of evidence.

From 1:00-2:00, fifteen demonstrators paraded with signs through
the Penn State Campus. This was to defy University policy against more than nine
people demonstrating without University permission. Two police officers escorted
us through campus, but did not interfere with the march

From 2:00-3:00, there was a debate on the Willard Building steps between Gary
Cattell, "The Willard Preacher" and Julian Heicklen, "The Pot smoking
Professor". They advertised a Marijuana legalization debate, They didn't deliver.
While Gary represented well, the religious right's self appointed moral obligation
to protect people from themselves, ( not to be confused with the governments self
appointed legal obligation to protect us from ourselves. ) He held true to the radical
right Christian positions, that Heaven could be created on earth, if everybody would
just believe the same things that they believe and do what they say... ("which
of course would remove the incentive for being good") and that if it's legal
it's okay, and if want we to use illegal drugs, then we are not mature enough to
handle them... Gary ignored the concept of personal responsibility for one's own
actions.Heicklen ignored the fact that not everyone is Libertarian, as he played
the role of a Libertarian zealot, who lives in a fantasy world, where all drugs are
legal, people can own anything except other people and you can do what you please
with anything you own, including destroying or killing it.The lines were well
rehearsed and were totally predictable, neither player paying any attention to reality,
each spouting his own conceptual Utopian philosophies. There was no real discussion
presented, no ideas, or workable solutions to the drug war. Both held to the government
lies that marijuana is the same as hard drugs and by virtue of it's illegality certainly
more dangerous than the "legal" drugs, like alcohol and nicotine and viagra...
Both ignored the fact that no law has ever prevented anyone from engaging in a victim-less
crimes... Both ignored the possibility of inhaling the fruits of the earth as
a spiritual experience... Both ignored all the middle ground positions, or even
that there may be other positions other than the two they were holding to...Both
ignored the crowd's comments and concerns about their respective positions. So in
the end I think the great debate was one of comparing morals to laws, not about the
war on drugs or social status of the sacred herb ganja. We the people need "leaders"
that present workable solutions. The concept worlds in which the preacher and the
professor describe never have and never will exist as long as there is a specter
of freedom. The drug war will end when someone comes up with a solution we all could
live with...

IF Peace and Freedom are the goals,
then Tolerance and Compromise are the tools..John
Galt jr.